Aid covers part of it. The plan collects the rest, on payday.
Tuition plans built from the enrollment in HubSpot or Pipedrive. The deposit before the first lab, federal aid recorded as it arrives, the student's share charged every other Friday, and each campus paid into its own bank account and books.
- L. Grant · Kansas City · Payment 5 of 16Paid
- D. Okafor · Springfield · Payment 2 of 16Paid
- R. Mendez · Springfield · Payment 9 of 16Open · admins notified
Why a trades school runs on payment plans.
Many HVAC, electrical and welding programs run six months to a year, often in the evening so students can keep a day job. Aid covers part of the cost. The student owes the rest.
Aid rarely covers all of it.
At a for-profit school, a program of at least 600 clock hours over 15 weeks can qualify for federal student aid (34 CFR 668.8), and many trades programs do. The aid is paid in stages as students complete their hours, and it seldom covers tuition, tools and fees in full. The difference is the student's to pay.
Students are paid every other Friday.
Evening students keep their day jobs, and 70% of private employers pay weekly or every two weeks (BLS). A payment that lands the day after payday gets made. One due the week before often doesn't.
Tools and certifications come with the program.
Many programs charge for a tool kit or materials before the first lab. HVAC students also sit for the EPA's Section 608 certification, which anyone who handles refrigerants must hold (EPA). Each of those is a line of its own on the invoice.
Each campus keeps its own books.
Groups add campuses by opening them or buying them, often as separate LLCs. Each one needs its own bank account, invoices and books, even when admissions is one team.
One student's program, from enrollment to paid off.
What your admissions team, your financial aid office, your bookkeeper and your student each see.
- Enrollment
Admissions marks the deal enrolled in HubSpot or Pipedrive and presses one button. The invoice is written from the deal: tuition, deposit, start date and the aid the student expects.
The rep never re-keys anything. The campus's template sets the branding and which bank account gets paid.
- Deposit
The student signs and pays the deposit on one page with your school's name on it, by card or bank transfer, before the first lab.
The card fee is shown before they confirm, where your state allows it. Bank transfer carries none.
- Aid arrives
Each federal aid disbursement is its own payment on the student's invoice, recorded when it posts. If aid comes in lower than expected, recalculate the student's plan for the difference.
The invoice shows who paid what: the deposit, each disbursement and the student's payments, each in its own row.
- Every other Friday
The student's share is charged every two weeks, on the Friday after payday, from the first week of class. Autopay, and a receipt each time.
Weekly, every other week or monthly, starting on whatever date you set.
- A missed payment
When a scheduled payment fails, your admins are notified, and it shows as open on the student's record and on your report. The student can pay it by card or bank transfer from the same payment page.
Your team works the short list of students who are actually behind, not every payment due this week.
- A withdrawal
When a student on federal aid withdraws, the Return of Title IV funds calculation comes first. Your refund policy then decides what the student owes, and you stop, refund or recalculate the plan the same day. How to work it out.
No more charging a student who left in week six. Your CRM shows the new balance.
- Month end
Every payment and recovered fee is already in that campus's QuickBooks Online or Xero file. One report shows collected, open and recovered, by campus.
Each campus's numbers are its own, and the bookkeeper checks them instead of building them.
deal
Sixteen card payments per student, and the fee comes back on each.
Payday plans mean more card payments, and the processor takes about 2.9% of every one. Paycove adds the card fee as a disclosed surcharge where your state allows it, and offers bank transfer beside every card.
Surcharge rules vary by state. Your counsel confirms yours; we'll show you both setups on the call.
What changes when the money runs itself.
The next campus opens with its money already working.
A new campus is a copy of a template: its own branding, bank account and books, the same plans as the rest. It can take deposits before its first lab opens.
locations one business runs on Paycove, each on the same plans, the same checkout and the same month end. A new campus is one more template.
You can say yes to the student a lender turns down.
Many of your students are changing careers with a credit file a lender won't touch. A plan from your school, at no interest, lets you enroll them on your terms, and the student stays yours.
students have paid for their program over time on Paycove, without a high-interest loan.
What trades schools ask.
Can the plan cover only what aid doesn't?
Yes. Aid is recorded on the student's invoice as its own payments, and the plan is set for the balance that's left. If a disbursement comes in lower than expected, recalculate the plan for the difference.
Can payments land on payday?
Yes. Plans run weekly, every other week or monthly, starting on the date you set, so a student paid every other Thursday can pay every other Friday.
Can we bill the tool kit and certification fees separately?
Yes. One-time items and the plan can sit on the same invoice, so a tool kit or an exam fee is its own line, paid up front or added to the plan.
What happens when a student on federal aid withdraws?
The Return of Title IV funds calculation comes first, and your refund policy decides what's owed after it. Stop the plan, refund a payment or recalculate the balance the same day, and your CRM shows the new balance.
Do plan payments matter for 90/10?
Revenue is counted on a cash basis, in the year the school receives it, so what your plans actually collect is what counts. How 90/10 counts plan payments. Check how your own plans are set up with your compliance lead.
Each campus is its own LLC. Can each have its own bank account and books?
Yes. Each campus runs from its own template with its own Stripe account and its own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, while admissions works from one CRM.
Is Paycove a lender?
No. Paycove runs the plan your school offers, at no interest. It doesn't lend, check credit or take on the student's balance.
What does it cost?
1% of what we collect plus $500 a month for your account, with no seat fees. See pricing.
Fifteen minutes before your next class starts.
On a screen share, we show you how Paycove would run a plan for a student like yours, at a campus like yours. Nothing to prepare. Built for schools collecting $100,000 a month or more in tuition.
Book 15 minutes